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Digium launches AsteriskNOW
Digium® Unveils New Software Appliance AsteriskNOW(TM) AsteriskNOW(TM) enables Asterisk implementations in 30 minutes or less HUNTSVILLE, AL  (January 3, 2007)  Digium®, Inc., the Asterisk® company, today announced its first software appliance, AsteriskNOW(TM), the open source distribution of Asterisk featuring a Digium-designed GUI. AsteriskNOW includes a new setup wizard that guides users through the installation process with ease, regardless of any previous Linux experience. The solution can be up and running within 30 minutes. The AsteriskNOW distribution includes all the Linux components necessary to run, debug and build Asterisk, making Asterisk easier to install and maintain in the office or at home. Users can navigate through a simple setup wizard, including the ability to use default dial plans and easy configurations. The AsteriskNOW GUI is highly flexible, giving users the ability to add, modify and delete users. Download options include ISO/CD Image, VM Player image, Xen universal guest image and LiveCD (burn and boot). "Digium appreciates the initial response to AsteriskNOW. We placed the initial beta version on AsteriskNOW.org last month and have experienced over 2,000 downloads per day without any promotion! Our goal of reducing the complexity of installing and using Asterisk will expand the market for Digium into more mainstream use, said Mark Spencer, president of Digium and creator of Asterisk. "Unlike other Linux distributions used to deploy Asterisk, AsteriskNOW does not have unnecessary components that could compromise security or performance. AsteriskNOW, based on the recently released Asterisk 1.4, is Digium's open source software appliance. The AsteriskNOW.org website includes a forum for community support and feedback as well as a developer blog. Support and Availability AsteriskNOW is available for download on the official AsteriskNOW website www.asterisknow.org and www.asterisk.org. About Digium Digium, Inc., the Asterisk company, is the original creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the industry's first open source telephony platform. Digium provides hardware and software products, including the Asterisk Business Edition(TM), its professional grade version of Asterisk, to enterprises and telecommunications providers worldwide. Digium also offers a full range of professional services including consulting, technical support and custom software development services. Used in combination with Digium's telephony interface cards, Asterisk offers a strategic, highly cost-effective approach to voice and data transport over IP, TDM, switched and Ethernet architectures. Digium's offerings include legacy PBX, IVR, auto attendant, next generation gateways, media servers and application servers. Additional information can be found at www.digium.com. About Asterisk Code for Asterisk, originally written by Mark Spencer of Digium, Inc., has been contributed to from open source software engineers around the world. Currently boasting over 1 million users, Asterisk supports a wide range of TDM protocols for the handling and transmission of voice over traditional telephony interfaces, and VoIP packet protocols such as IAX, SIP and H.323. It supports U.S. and European standard signaling types used in business phone systems, allowing it to bridge between next-generation voice-data integrated networks and existing infrastructure. The Digium logo, Digium, Asterisk, the Asterisk logo, and AsteriskNOW are trademarks of Digium, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respected owners. (Log in to post comments)
Limiting access to GPL programs Posted Jan 3, 2007 16:26 UTC (Wed) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] Boy, is this a new wrinkle. Sounds like a job for GPLv3. :-)Seriously, does this really limit anyone? Can it limit anyone? The fact that they're offering GPL programs seems to obviate any claim of restriction on their part. As I see it, once you get your mitts on it, no matter how, you have a GPL program, with all that implies. Digium isn't allowed to distribute if it adds restrictions, but that prohibition doesn't extend to recipients, who still get the all the GPL goodness. Nonetheless, they're despicable for trying.
Limiting access to GPL programs Posted Jan 3, 2007 17:00 UTC (Wed) by charlieb (subscriber, #23340) [Link] Digium isn't allowed to distribute someone else's GPL program with new restrictions added. The GPL doesn't limit what Digium can do with its own software.
Limiting access to GPL programs Posted Jan 3, 2007 17:42 UTC (Wed) by AJWM (guest, #15888) [Link] On the other hand, if it's Digium applying the GPL to Digium's software and Digium letting you download it, it would seem to me that because the license granted by the GPL is granted _after_ the registration agreement which you click through, then said license grant supercedes the restriction in the registration.
In other words, what they (try to) take away with the registration, they give back by including the GPL in the software that they let you download. (And if it's their software, they clearly _intended_ to do so by using the GPL.)
Limiting access to GPL programs Posted Jan 3, 2007 17:54 UTC (Wed) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] Digium isn't allowed to distribute someone else's GPL program with new restrictions added.Sure. My point was that they are making it possible to acquire GPL programs, even though it appears that they're prohibited. Once you've acquired one, it seems to me that it has no restrictions beyond the GPL, no matter what they claim and no matter what they said when you acquired it.
Limiting access to GPL programs Posted Jan 3, 2007 18:23 UTC (Wed) by zotz (guest, #26117) [Link] ["Digium hereby authorizes you to copy materials published by Digium on the Website solely for non-commercial use by you or internally within your organization (or if you are a Digium Distributor or Partner, your customer's organization) solely in support of Digium products. No other use of the information is authorized."]
"Nonetheless, they're despicable for trying."
I am not sure what they are doing, and I doubt I think they are being smart in any case, but the materials in question may be non-code.
For instance, the Rivendell guys:
http://www.salemradiolabs.com/rivendell/
have a CC BY-NC-SA license on some of their docs:
ftp://ftp.salemradiolabs.com/pub/srlabs/rivendell/docs/ro...
and I hope they rethink the implications of this at some point,
and IIRC, at one time the ardour people:
had plans for some sort of NC on the manual which they intended to sell to make money. I don't see ready evidence of that these days, so either things have changed or my memory is playing tricks with me.
all the best,
drew
Digium launches AsteriskNOW Posted Jan 3, 2007 16:56 UTC (Wed) by achitnis (subscriber, #20) [Link] Hmmm. I always assumed that Digium "gets it".
Either I was wrong, or they have some over-ambitious, clueless lawyers at work there, who are going to damage Digium's reputation beyond repair.
Nothing that an apology and a quick reword can't fix, but the longer they wait, the more permanent the damage will be.
assume incompetence, not evil Posted Jan 3, 2007 18:10 UTC (Wed) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link] This is the kind of thing that the FSF has cleaned up in the past by having Eben Moglen give the offender a call and quietly, politely explain the obligations the GPL imposes.So, these folks should be asked, politely, by the copyright holders of Asterix, Linux, or whoever, to correct their restrictions document to conform to the GPL. There is no issue unless they do not comply.
assume incompetence, not evil Posted Jan 4, 2007 8:34 UTC (Thu) by achitnis (subscriber, #20) [Link] Ah, digium has fixed the issue. Good. They still "get it".
Keep your shirts on! Posted Jan 3, 2007 18:11 UTC (Wed) by michaelkjohnson (subscriber, #41438) [Link] A Digium employee tells me that the click-through with the wrong terms was an accident and has been fixed; it's replaced by the GPL, which I just confirmed by visiting the registration page. He also reports that registration is required only for the beta releases, and will not be required for final or RC releases. (I recommend to all commenters here that you assume good intentions first, and attribute malice only when malice is the only possible answer.)
Keep your shirts on! Posted Jan 3, 2007 22:40 UTC (Wed) by jonth (subscriber, #4008) [Link] "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."
Winston Churchill.
Keep your shirts on! Posted Jan 4, 2007 5:49 UTC (Thu) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link] However, I'm yet to see proprietary software "accidentally" released under a free license. Somehow the "incompetence" only works in one direction as long as legal issues are involved.
Keep your shirts on! Posted Jan 4, 2007 12:14 UTC (Thu) by lacostej (subscriber, #2760) [Link] I may be wrong but I thought that Linksys released more than what they were enforced to when they released source code for their router (the one that became very popular amongst hobbists, because it could be completely reinstalled with a full Linux stack).
Digium Supplies Incorrect License Posted Jan 3, 2007 18:20 UTC (Wed) by j4m3s (guest, #42550) [Link] Due to an oversight on the team's behalf, Digium supplied contradictory terms during *NOW registration. This has been corrected and now the GPL is currently displayed. New users will be required to agree to those terms, and current users will need to agree to the new terms upon login.
In response to requiring registration for downloading the betas, this will be in effect for the beta2. However, subsequent releases will not be betas and will ask for you to register upon logging into the GUI, this will not be a requirement for usage though.
Thanks for catching this and sorry for the confusion!
Digium Supplies Incorrect License Posted Jan 3, 2007 18:34 UTC (Wed) by zotz (guest, #26117) [Link] "New users will be required to agree to those terms, and current users will need to agree to the new terms upon login."
Even this is a problem that a lot of people seem to make with the GPL. You don't have to agree to it to use the software.
People who want to be sure users have read the GPL should put it up but have the button say "I Understand" instead of "I Agree" and things might make more sense. (Perhaps something other than "I Understand" even, but "I Agree" is not correct.)
all the best,
drew
Digium STILL supplies incorrect license Posted Jan 4, 2007 5:34 UTC (Thu) by grouch (guest, #27289) [Link] Even this is a problem that a lot of people seem to make with the GPL. You don't have to agree to it to use the software. Exactly. Digium needs to understand that the GPL does not allow further restrictions. As someone pointed out recently about installing GPL software (sorry, can't remember who or where), you could have click-through buttons such as:
The only additional restrictions that may be applied must not be added to the GPL. Digium may limit who is allowed to download from them, but they must not add those limitations to the license. Requiring acceptance of the terms of the GPL is a prohibited extension to the GPL.
Digium STILL supplies incorrect license Posted Jan 4, 2007 16:13 UTC (Thu) by zotz (guest, #26117) [Link] A good number of people / projects seem to put the GPL up with an "I Agree" click through button though.
all the best,
drew
Distribution and trademark spelling :-) Posted Jan 3, 2007 19:16 UTC (Wed) by kpfleming (subscriber, #23250) [Link] The distribution that AsteriskNOW is based on is rPath.
If you would be so kind, please correct the mis-spelling of Asterisk as 'Asterix' in the main story. Thanks.
Distribution and trademark spelling :-) Posted Jan 3, 2007 19:22 UTC (Wed) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link] Hey, I got it right every time but once... but, then, those indomitable Gauls have lawyers who get especially mean if they think you are taking their names in vain. So I fixed it.
Distribution and trademark spelling :-) Posted Jan 3, 2007 21:25 UTC (Wed) by k8to (subscriber, #15413) [Link] And you have to be very careful about when they are armed with druidical potions.
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